EUGENE, Ore. -- The University of Oregon women’s basketball team (2-9) will wrap up the non-conference portion of its schedule on Monday, Dec. 31 with a home game against second-ranked Connecticut (10-0). Tip-time is scheduled for 12 pm (PT) at Matthew Knight Arena. This is the first meeting for the Ducks and the Huskies in a women’s basketball competition.

Tickets ($10-$18) are available online at goducks.com, in-person at the Moshofsky Center Ticket Office (M-F, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.) or over the phone at 1-800-WEBFOOT. Tickets are also available at the Matthew Knight Arena Box Office (M-F, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.) on game days.

Oregon has won two of its last three games entering Monday’s contest with UConn. The Ducks defeated Fresno State (65-64) and Samford (72-61) prior to falling on the road to Portland (68-49). The Huskies are undefeated as they enter Saturday’s road tilt with No. 1 Stanford.

UP NEXT FOR THE DUCKS
Oregon will open Pac-12 Conference play Jan. 4-6 with home games against UCLA and USC. The Ducks-Bruins contest is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m., while the Oregon-USC game will tip-off Sunday at 1 p.m.

DUCKS RANK ATOP PAC-12 IN BLOCKS, FREE THROWS
Oregon leads the Pac-12 Conference in blocked shots and free throw shooting percentage.UO is averaging a league-leading 5.8 blocks per game. As of the latest NCAA stats report issued on Dec. 17, Oregon ranked ninth in the nation for blocked shots.
Megan Carpenter (2.0 bpg) and Jillian Alleyne (1.8 bpg) rank third and fourth respectively in the Pac-12 in that category.

The Ducks have also been excellent from the free throw line making 75.7 percent of their attempts (131-of-173). The latest NCAA stats report ranked UO 38th in the nation for free throw percentage.

Leading UO in that category is Danielle Love and Devyn Galland, with those players hitting 90 percent (27-of-30) which ranks them tied for third in league.
Ariel Thomas (7-of-7, 100 percent) and Jordan Loera (10-of-11, 90.9 percent) do not have enough attempt to register for the rankings.

OREGON FROSH LEADS THE NATION IN REBOUNDING Jillian Alleyne, a freshman from Fontana, Calif., is tied for first nationally in rebounding average (14.5 rpg). High Point center Cheyenne Parker is also averaging 14.5 rpg (as of Dec. 28).

The NCAA record for season rebounding average by a freshman is 15.5 rpg (1985 – Valorie Whiteside, Appalachian State).

Alleyne has recorded four of the top five single-game rebounding efforts of any Pac-12 player this season (27, 23, 19, 18).

She totaled 19 rebounds in UO’s win over Samford, while grabbing 18 rebounds in Oregon’s road loss to Illinois. Alleyne came off the bench to grab a game-high 23 boards, eight of the offensive variety, against No. 13 Oklahoma. She grabbed a school and Pac-12 record 27 boards against Portland State on Nov. 15 (more about that on page 3).

ALLEYNE BREAKS PAC-12 SINGLE-GAME REBOUNDING MARK Jillian Alleyne broke the school and Pac-12 Conference rebounding record in UO’s double-overtime home loss to Portland State. In the same game, just her second as a collegiate player, Alleyne also matched the school record for points with 38.

The 27 rebounds bettered the previous Pac-12 mark set nearly 20 years ago by UCLA’s Natalie Williams in 1994. Alleyne’s rebounding total is the 24th-highest single-game total in NCAA history (since 1982). Alleyne’s mark also took down UO’s 34-year-old mark that had stood since 1978.

Alleyne scored 30 of her 38 points, and grabbed 21 of her 27 rebounds in the second half and the two overtime periods. In fact, Alleyne amassed a double-double in the two overtime periods alone (10 points and 10 rebounds). For that game, Alleyne went 13-of-24 on field goals and made 12-of-19 free throw attempts. She also contributed team-bests with four steals and three blocks.
REINFORCEMENTS ARE ON THE WAY
At one point during the non-conference schedule, Oregon was down to a seven-player rotation and played without as many as five players who had starting experience. But entering the New Year, many of those missing players are making their way back to the lineup.

Ariel Thomas returned to action against Nevada on Dec. 9 and has made an immediate impact averaging 11.4 points and 5.0 rebounds in those five games. She has been a starter in the last three games.

Three-sport standout Liz Brenner (volleyball/women’s basketball/softball), a sophomore who played in 21 games and started eight contests for UO a year ago, has finished her volleyball season. She will be in uniform beginning with the Connecticut game on Dec. 31.

Amanda Delgado has missed the last five games due to an injury, but is listed as day-to-day entering the UConn game. The sophomore from Las Vegas, Nev., was having a breakout campaign averaging 12.7 points per game and leading the team with 17 made 3-pointers. She was named to the all-tournament squad after averaging 18.5 points per game at the Rainbow Wahine Showdown in Honolulu.

Injuries have also sidelined key returner Deanna Weaver as well as redshirt freshman Janitah Iamaleava who has yet to play a game in a UO uniform. Weaver ranked fifth (6.7 ppg) in scoring on the 2011-12 team, the second-best average for Ducks returning in 2012-13. Weaver also ranked second on the team in 3-point percentage (24-of-66, .364) for players who had 15 or more attempts. Iamaleava is scheduled to make her return some time this season.

Laura Stanulis and Lexi Petersen have been ruled out for the rest of the season due to injury. Stanulis also led the team in assists (33) at the time of her injury. Petersen, who played in just one game, averaged a team-leading 17.5 points per game on UO’s preseason foreign tour to Spain.

Oregon is also without the services of Katelyn Loper who transferred to UO this summer and is not eligible for competition until the 2013-14 season.

OREGON ADDS A PAIR OF WALK-ONS Head coach Paul Westhead recently added two walk-ons, Katie Gruys and Chloe Stiles,
to boost the roster numbers after the team has been plagued with
injuries to start the 2012-13 season. Gruys is a 6-0 guard from Maple
Lake, Minn., while Stiles is a 5-8 guard from Eugene’s Sheldon High
School. Both are freshmen eligibility wise.

INTERNET COVERAGE FOR OREGON WOMEN'S HOOPS
Live audio, video for all non-televised home games or Pac-12 road games
will be streamed online with links available at goducks.com
(pac-12.com/live/goducks.aspx). All web streaming will be in conjunction
with Pac-12 live stream.

In addition, UO basketball representatives will make periodic
appearances throughout the season on Ducks Insider, a daily sports
webcast (hosted by Jerry Allen and Jill Savage, 1-3 pm) that features
interviews with coaches and student-athletes.

The Ducks are on Facebook. Follow @OregonWBB on Twitter for behind the scenes perspective by the staff and players.

DUCKS UNDEFEATED ON PRESEASON FOREIGN TOUR
Oregon went 4-0 on its 2012 Spanish Foreign Tour which took place Aug. 24-Sept. 2. UO played games against professional clubs from Madrid, Girona and Barcelona. Oregon defeated a professional team from Madrid, Estudiantes, in back-to-back games to open the trip (Game 1 - W, 94-67; Game 2 - W, 84-61). UO also played games at the Torneig de Basquet Unnim tournament played just north of Barcelona, recording a 103-62 win over Uni Girona and a 70-52 win over Santa Rosa de Lima.